Ahhh Summer! It’s one of the major reasons why we make the East End our home. The beaches, the sunsets, alfresco dining, the gardens, boating, and surfing. The experience is nothing short of epic and it’s what keeps us going as we get through the doldrums of winter. It’s freezing outside, the trees are naked as their branches sway and crash in the frigid wind — but the traffic is picking up, which means one thing: the Hamptons summer rental season is underway.
Dana Trotter, Sotheby’s International Realty
The holidays are over so summer rental shopping is very active in the Hamptons. While the inventory may be fairly robust now, the best houses rent early so locking in your summer rental now is highly advised.
Matthew Breitenbach, Breitenbach Advisory Team, Compass
Rentals are definitely picking up. I feel rentals are always there no matter the market conditions. Despite headwinds economically in the world, the demand for Hamptons real estate is 5x pre-Covid levels and that is not changing. The issue beyond economic headwinds has been pricing from sellers and landlords that is overly aspirational and not rooted in reality.
Patrick McLaughlin, Douglas Elliman
We’ve had activity so far for the rentals, but I don’t think we’ll really have a sense of the market conditions until a few weeks after Presidents Day weekend. In my experience, that’s when things really start to heat up with renters beginning their search. I will say, I don’t think we’ll see “Covid pricing” and things will likely be a little softer now that folks are traveling again.
Peter McCracken, The Corcoran Group
January is a relatively busy month for rentals. This is when they really start to pick up. If the weather is looking to be a great weekend, I see a tremendous amount of people coming out from the city to look around for the perfect rental. Most want to get ahead of the game and get the best house. For me, I am already ahead of last season, which was very slow for rentals. I think most people traveled abroad and did not rent last year.
Jake Sinacori, Nest Seekers International
The rental market has started to pick up. We are in an A-class market so no matter what, there will always be a demand for our product — the Hamptons is always in.
Judi Desiderio, Town & Country Real Estate
Rentals and sales are normally inversely related, so we anticipate a very good rental season since in the second half of 2022 home sales were off. All Town & Country offices have been negotiating leases since the start of this year and the momentum has continued to grow.
Deborah Srb, Sotheby’s International Realty
This year prospective renters will have plenty of options as the pandemic created a surge in home buying and those homeowners now are looking to capitalize on their investments. With more supply, I see homeowners are being forced to reduce prices to pre-pandemic pricing in order to ensure their homes get rented. I see the demand is same as always because the Hamptons is special and nothing has changed as far as desire to be here. Those that are coming out now are getting quite a choice to choose from and are either snapping them up to insure they have something locked up or can wait to see if prices will go down even more as supply is abundant right now. But as always, the earlybird gets the worm and we are seeing a lot of re-upping of last years rentals and the high end going quickly which offer gorgeous homes with all the bells and whistles.
Bonita DeWolf, The Corcoran Group
The rentals started slowly for me about a month ago and now I have quite a few tenants looking and pinning down rentals. I think it will be a very good season if the landlords are flexible on terms and pricing. A lot of tenants don’t want the full season this year as they want to spend time somewhere else now that the world has opened up again. In terms of pricing I think landlords who are realistic instead of aspirational, will do well.
Kevin Flaherty, Compass
We’re off to somewhat of a slow start in the rental season but I believe things will turn for the better. It’s possible that the worst is behind us and Q4 of 2022 was the bottom of the real estate market cycle. I’m predicting prices will come down slightly and activity will pick up throughout the season which should stabilize things. Landlords should be open to offers and negotiate early in the season. The Hamptons will do its thing like it does every year.
Angela Boyer-Stump, Sotheby’s International Real Estate
Rentals are just starting to pick up. New Yorkers seem to be waiting a bit as they wait to hear about possible 5 day work weeks while out of state and foreign tenants are gobbling the inventory! I predict that inventory will be thin as we start the season and that we will see more Texans and Floridians flocking to the Hamptons for the summer. We are seeing landlords willing to negotiate to secure leases early, making tenants and landlords happy. Summer 2023 promises to be vibrant and fabulous.
Gerry Stilwell, Town & Country Real Estate
The rental market got off to a slow start but we are seeing momentum and activity is definitely picking up. I’m very optimistic that the 2023 season will be as robust as ever. Who doesn’t want to be in the Hampton in the summer?
